Birthday Week 2

Well Birthday Week 2 (see Birthday Week 1) officially came to an end on Saturday, after a marathon of eating out for seven of the last eight days, plus a trip to The Meritage Resort and Spa to attend Flavor! Napa Valley. I enjoyed two complete Thanksgiving meals at Bayside while learning about its plans for 2014 and beyond at its main campus, the North Campus (closer to my house) and the hundreds of projects it supports in the region and around the world. Then there were dinners out with friends .... Happy Hours at Ruth's Chris Steak House and Mikuni Kaizen, appetizers at Mas Cocina Mexican and I even cooked some tasty pasta with vegetables and chicken to eat for lunch when I was at home.

All of that food was amazing, but attending Flavor! Napa Valley's "The Appellation Trail: Tasting Napa Valley" with the team from The Meritage Resort and Spa was simply incredible. The best way to describe it is to think of any "Best of" or "Taste of" event you have been to and then add in Michelin Star rated restaurants, the nation's top chefs and some of the best wine in the world. There were two floors of food and wine stations, and the wine was flowing while the food was being prepared and served. From Iron Chef Morimoto to Chef Krisztian Karkus from The Meritage Resort and Spa, and numerous restaurants from Downtown Napa and the rest of the Napa Valley it was a foodie heaven and I think I tried at least one of every food item available. I also tried many of the wines, but couldn't get to them all ... I may not have been able to walk or stand up if I had done that (see event photos here).

Now I'm officially ready to celebrate Thanksgiving at the Bradley Lodge. I think we're also going to try the Polar Dash at Bear Valley and may check out the new visitor center at Big Trees State Park too.